Many dog owners want to travel with their dogs and the general advice is: train your dog first.
The benefit of this goes far beyond the mere fact that you are being a responsible pet owner. Training a dog for travel will also make it easier for both you and your best friend to enjoy your trip.
Why Train A Dog for Travel Specifically?
A well-behaved, well-trained dog will be more comfortable in a car or on an airplane, less likely to damage property in transit, and less likely to disobey commands or do something dangerous like jumping out of any open windows during the trip.
If you’re ready to jump in, here are the steps required.
Step 1:Start With The Basics
It’s time to get onto training. Any dog, however well socialized or trained, will become anxious when traveling long distances.
Once you’ve determined the length of your average trip, pick a day (or better yet a weekend) that works for everyone involved, and do a test run to see how your dog copes with being in the car.
Step 2: Get Your Dog’s Health Ready For The Trip
Traveling with a dog can be difficult, it’s best to speak to a professional veterinarian like those at easyvet.com; they will be able to give you all of the information on the requirements for your particular traveling experience.
At the very least, you should make sure that your dog is in good health physically, as well as up-to-date on all vaccinations.
If you travel more than about a half dozen times a year and sometimes it’s on planes, consider getting an airline-certified pet travel crate.
Step 3: Find The Right Methods That Play To Your Dog’s Strengths
One thing to consider is whether or not your dog is crate-trained. If he isn’t, you’ll have to start with that as a baseline. One of the most useful things you can do is to have your dog sit quietly in his crate for extended periods of time before you start traveling.
Consider bringing them into work with you before making the jump into full car rides or flights.
Step 4: Start By Taking Walks
It’s pretty difficult to train a dog for travel while already on a trip, so it’s better to start well in advance. Work on simple commands like ‘sit’ and ‘come’ while doing regular walks around your neighborhood.
You’ll want to do these regularly so that they’re ingrained in your dog before the trip. Ideally, you will practice whenever you take them out for walks.
Step 5: Slowly Incorporate The Car Ride Into The Mix
Almost all dogs riding in cars tend to feel anxious when the car is moving and it’s likely that your first few car rides will be uncomfortable.
To make things easier, don’t try to train a dog for travel the very first time that you put them in your car; work on it gradually.
If you have a crate, make sure they’re used to sitting in it both before and after being taken out. Always make sure they remain calm when being placed inside.
